PICTURE POST II!

[cooleddie74]

Give me a plate full of seedless cucumber slices, grape tomatoes and croutons drizzled in lowfat or fat free French, Thousand Island or Ranch dressing and I love it.

Mind you, I'll probably eat a taco or burger a few hours later, but I do love my salads....when they're done right.

[iguana_tonante]

J. Allen wrote:

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It may not look like much, but it was delicious. Tomatoes sauteed in extra virgin olive oil, sprinkled with fresh parmesan cheese, celery salt, oregano, and a dash of pepper, sitting on a bed of green lettuce drizzled in olive oil and sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

Truly delicious... and thoroughly Italian, which I very much approve!

cooleddie74 wrote:

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Great. Now I have a craving for a big salad.

Usually one of my meal (lunch or dinner) is a salad. I've found it do wonders to my energy level through the day.

RoJoHen wrote:

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Aside from the cheese, that sounds like the worst meal ever.

RoJoHen - carnivore.

I know I tease you endlessly with this, but tell us again: how much time does it take you to take a dump?

[RoJoHen]

iguana_tonante wrote:

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I know I tease you endlessly with this, but tell us again: how much time does it take you to take a dump?

Anywhere between 15 and 45 minutes.

I've gotten better, though. Now I just take fiber supplements. And corn. I eat a lot of corn.

I actually like vegetables. I just prefer cooked vegetables that you would eat as a side dish. And I really don't like leaves.

[J. Allen]

RoJoHen wrote:

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Not even kidding. I don't eat lettuce or tomatoes. I think salads are one of the most disgusting things ever.

Really? I love salads, and you can do so much with them.

cooleddie74 wrote:

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Give me a plate full of seedless cucumber slices, grape tomatoes and croutons drizzled in lowfat or fat free French, Thousand Island or Ranch dressing and I love it.

Mind you, I'll probably eat a taco or burger a few hours later, but I do love my salads....when they're done right.

I like a salad with tomato, kale, spinach leaves, Romaine, carrot slices, and red onions, with either a dash of olive oil and pepper, or vinaigrette. Of course, I've always been predisposed to veggies over meat anyway, so going full on veg won't be as rough a transition for me. My only concern is keeping it going, as buying food for a non-veggie family and still maintaining that veggie lifestyle is difficult on a limited budget, and there's no way my family would go vegetarian themselves, they're a meat loving family.

Hell, Rojo would fit right in. My dad likes a big steak or piece of chicken, mashed potatoes, and a tiny "salad" of half a tomato and a few pieces of lettuce, and it better be covered in ranch. Mom likes salads, but they have to be full of chicken, bacon bits, cheese, and such, or she won't eat much of it.

[RoJoHen]

I do not eat leaves.

[cooleddie74]

Now....brussel sprouts? I'd rather eat a styrofoam drink cooler.

I like vegetables. Spinach and black olive pizza is my new pizza craze at the moment. But there are a few of our little green friends I learned to steer clear of when I was still a kid and brussel sprouts have no redeeming qualities other than helping you stay regular.

And we won't go there.

[RoJoHen]

I've actually never had brussel sprouts. It was never a thing my mom cooked.

Gimme some broccoli, peas, corn, carrots, squash, and I'm good. I just can't stand leaves!

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I want to stay "regular" too, but to that end (hehe), I'll just eat a large load of Kirkland brand (i.e. Costco) raisin bran whenever the mood strikes me.

[J. Allen]

RoJoHen wrote:

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I do not eat leaves.

But leaves have so many uses! You can eat them, smoke them, pad your cage with them...

cooleddie74 wrote:

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Now....brussel sprouts? I'd rather eat a styrofoam drink cooler.

I like vegetables. Spinach and black olive pizza is my new pizza craze at the moment. But there are a few of our little green friends I learned to steer clear of when I was still a kid and brussel sprouts have no redeeming qualities other than helping you stay regular.

And we won't go there.

Ooh, yeah, brussels sprouts don't sit well with me either. They make my stomach hurt, so I avoid them. I don't like cooked spinach, though. I prefer it raw and in a salad.

RoJoHen wrote:

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I've actually never had brussel sprouts. It was never a thing my mom cooked.

Gimme some broccoli, peas, corn, carrots, squash, and I'm good. I just can't stand leaves!

Romain lettuce, cherry tomatoes, peas, garbanzo beans, and bleu cheese. You'll love it. Maybe.

Mr. Laser Beam wrote:

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I want to stay "regular" too, but to that end (hehe), I'll just eat a large load of Kirkland brand (i.e. Costco) raisin bran whenever the mood strikes me.

I love raisin bran. I eat Kashi raisin bran because they don't add sugar. It costs more, yes, but the low sugar and fewer carbs, combined with the higher fiber ensures that I'm not setting myself up for trouble later.

[RoJoHen]

J. Allen wrote:

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Romain lettuce, cherry tomatoes, peas, garbanzo beans, and bleu cheese. You'll love it. Maybe.

Unless romaine lettuce comes in some form other than leaves, I already hate this. Plus, I hate tomatoes. Plus, bleu cheese is gross.

I also hate dressing. The only thing more disgusting than leaves are leaves soaked in goo.

So...no.

[iguana_tonante]

One thing I agree with RoJoHen, salad dressings are doubleplusungood. Olive oil, salt, maybe some lemon juice or vinegar. If you need anything else, your salad is not worth much to start with.

[ShamelessMcBundy]

RoJoHen wrote:

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Aside from the cheese, that sounds like the worst meal ever.

RoJoHen - carnivore.

That's not food! That's what food eats!

[Gary7]

Also a big salad fan here.

Salads are not only versatile and full of palatable potential, but can be very healthy for you as well depending upon your ingredients. Many nutritionists believe our bodies work best when eating leafy greens and vegetables than meat and potatoes.

Sometimes I go vegetarian, but then sometimes I mix it up with meat or fish.

The great thing is that it's so easy to "change it up", so you don't feel like you're eating the same old thing every time. I have to admit I've gotten rather dull with respect to dressings. I have to peruse the Internet for more recipes. Often I will fall back on pre-made dressings, a few of which I get from Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. But my favorite "fall back" is always a whip up of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and mustard.

When I was a kid, I couldn't stand Brussel sprouts. Now I love them. But spinach is still my all time favorite vegetable, especially when steamed from fresh leaf state. Next is broccoli. I'm trying to work up a taste for cauliflower, because I hear it's so good for you, but I can't stand it cooked.

Hey J. Allen, have you ever tried a kumato tomato? They've been my favorite for over a year now. Really flavorful and they last a good long while on the shelf before getting overripe.

[cooleddie74]

I'm not much for putting olive oil on salads but dipping bread in olive oil? That's different. French or Italian bread dipped into a cup of virgin olive oil?

Mmmmmmm.

[teacake]

iguana_tonante wrote:

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One thing I agree with RoJoHen, salad dressings are doubleplusungood. Olive oil, salt, maybe some lemon juice or vinegar. If you need anything else, your salad is not worth much to start with.

I think the gooey dressings are an american obsession. If you buy a salad out here it usually has balsamic vinegar on it and some olive oil.

For variety J. Allen you can make a dressing with orange juice and some olive oil, especially if you have some carbs in your salad like beans, lentils, brown rice. They taste great with that bit of orange juice in them. I would cut out the salt, even the celery salt if I was worried about blood pressure, parmesan cheese is plenty salty as it is. Tomatoes taste quite salty on their own.. if you wean yourself off the salt habit you will be amazed at how much natural salt taste is in a lot of vegetables, eggs etc..

I don't eat many leaves because their isn't much nutrition in them and they kind of bore me. Mostly I eat baby spinach and rocket. My salads are usually chunky, peppers, zuchinnis, blanched broccoli.. whatever is on sale being the bulk of it.

You know what lemon juice is delicious on? Peas. Nuke some peas and just have them with lemon juice, they are great.

btw J. Allen maybe you should start a going veg thread. I'm not veg but regularly go weeks without eating meat. I mostly eat it when I eat out. 99% of my eating out is asian and probably where most of my meat comes from. However I grew up in a health food family (we lived on millet ) and I've always loved salads and vegies as well as finding ways to eat really really well on a budget. Vegetables are at times a fortune here because of drought and high petrol prices and great distances involved in trucking stuff but that's just gotten me inspired to find ways to feature whatever is the current bargain vegetable. Anyway.. you should start a food thread. We can post pics and talk about legumes.

I think you are doing yourself a HUGE plus by going veg